“Design depends largely on constraints.” — Charles Eames
Hi, I’m Mark Nottingham. I currently chair the IETF HTTPbis Working Group. I usually write here about the Web, protocol design, HTTP, and caching. Once in a while, I’ll write about economics, travel or living in Australia. Find out more.
Sunday, 22 April 2007
I haven’t blogged for a while because I’ve been on the road, a lot. Although I got back a while back, I’m just now catching up. Part of working this remotely means visiting the mother ship regularly, and this was my first trip back. Because it was at the same time as a few interesting events, and since I was already on the move, I opted for a round-the-world trip ticket. A RTW ticket is actually a pretty good...
Monday, 12 February 2007
It’s always more expensive than you plan. The few weeks before you go are the busiest of your life. It’s on the scale of planning a wedding where royalty are involved, because there are so many loose ends to tie up with no chance to “get to them later”, and people will come out of the woodwork to have that last chat/party/booze-up/shopping trip before they never see you again. It’s time well spent. You will spend an inordinate amount...
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Wednesday, 23 November 2005
My pictures from a week in Japan are now up. This was a trip for the Addressing WG, with a day beforehand to get over jetlag, and a few days afterwards on my own time. Many thanks to Hitachi and especially Bob and Nishiyama-san for doing such an exceptional job hosting us, and also to Paul for letting me crash with him in Tokyo on the way out. Having travelled little in Asia beforehand (just to Singapore and Hong...
Sunday, 10 April 2005
As if flying wasn’t enough of a trial already, you may have heard that the FCC is considering lifting their ban on mobile phone use in airplanes. While the FAA may still restrict their use, this is just one barrier less to having a person yammering away for hours on end, one foot away from your ear. While most people find this offensive, there are a minority of people who would like to be able to use their phone...
Sunday, 10 April 2005
Those who have been preoccupied by Two Funerals and a Wedding may have missed news of a developing diplomatic crisis in Australia. Sir Michael Somare, the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, happened to transit through Brisbane airport on his way back from New Zealand a little while back. When his shoes set off the metal detector, they asked him to take them off; he refused. When he finally did get home, he complained. A lot. He also demanded an...
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Thursday, 17 March 2005
I personally like Airbus planes, especially the A340, but Risks Digest has given me a reason to avoid some of them; [A]fter (an earlier) disaster, more than 20 American Airlines A300 pilots asked to be transferred to Boeings, although this meant months of retraining and loss of earnings. Some of those who contributed to pilots’ bulletin boards last week expressed anger at the European manufacturer in vehement terms. One wrote that having attended an Airbus briefing…, he had refused...
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Sunday, 19 September 2004
If you're wondering where the promised travel stories from Melbourne got to, you'll have to wait a bit longer. Right after I got there, Anitra was bit by a spider (a supreme irony, really) and had to go to the emergency room, because all sorts of unpleasant things were happening.
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Wednesday, 8 September 2004
I'm typing this from the Red Carpet Club in San Francisco International Airport, about to disembark on a snap vacation to Australia. By 'snap vacation,' I mean that I didn't have a gleam in my eye about this trip two weeks ago, but thanks to generous fares from United ($650 round trip!)... Anitra and Charlie are staying behind for this one; she couldn't get away from work, and will be going to Australia to hear some wedding bells (shhh, big secret) in January.
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Saturday, 27 December 2003
Inger put me onto a new travel guide, and I’m already planning the trip. Molvania (“A land untouched by modern dentistry”) looks like a really interesting country. For example; Molvania’s national anthem was chosen in 1987 as part of a competition, with the winning entry coming from an elderly local composer V. J. Rzebren. It is sung to the tune of ‘Oh What a Feeling’ from Flashdance, with the third verse generally considered optional, as it is in contravention of...
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Friday, 26 December 2003
We’ve lived in California for more than four years now, and Anitra grew up in Melbourne, with the result that she first saw snow falling from the sky when she was 25. When we had an opportunity to take a week’s holiday right before Christmas, we decided against somewhere sunny; why more of the same? Instead, we booked some tickets to Washington (so as to drop off the kid), then to Munich, and spent some serious time researching our advent travel opportunities, with the help of the Die Bahn Travel Planner, a couple of DK guides, and Google. Here are my notes from planning the trip, as well as my thoughts on what’s good if you go. See also the pictures.
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Saturday, 26 July 2003
I spent more time today saying "dude" than I ever have before (proportionally), because I took a little drive. As you may have guessed, Antibes left me a little cold, despite the weather; I'm not a big fan of seaside resorts. So, after a little time in the markets this morning followed by a session in a laser (whereby I reminded myself that sailing *isn't* just like riding a bike, after ten years), I took Yves' advice (thanks!) and drove...
Friday, 25 July 2003
Pros * Makes everybody jealous when you say you're going there * Great beaches and the Alps nearby * Sailing! Cons * Very hot and humid, especially when you're used to weatherless northern California * Full of tourists in high season * Beach towns are the same the world over...
Saturday, 28 June 2003
Pros: * They're serious about this "midnight sun" thing * Discovered I actually like herring * Fantastic mobile phone coverage * Hima & Sali * Free bicycles! Cons: * They're serious about this "midnight sun" thing * Finns don't seem to understand the function of blackout curtains * Strange fascination with cleaning shoes * How can I put this kindly? It's a bit... quiet....
Monday, 23 June 2003
Pros: * quick 1.5-hour boat ride from Helsinki * cool, still-foreign-looking passport stamps * full of beautiful european architecture / city planning Cons: * v. aggressive postcard-selling girls on EVERY corner * still not sure what the currency is called; locals refer to it as "estonia money" * beautiful european architecture / city planning is starting to look the same everywhere I go...
Thursday, 30 January 2003
Travel bookmarks have been reorg'd and cleaned; the RSS feed gives you the latest additions. Suggestions welcome....
